Is Blue Cross Blue Shield really a nonprofit?

President Donald Trump is poised to halt billions in subsidy payments to insurance companies that help cover medical costs for millions of low-income Americans. (Oct. 13, 2017) (Sign up for our free video newsletter here http://bit.ly/2n6VKPR)

President Donald Trump is poised to halt billions in subsidy payments to insurance companies that help cover medical costs for millions of low-income Americans. (Oct. 13, 2017) (Sign up for our free video newsletter here http://bit.ly/2n6VKPR)

In reference to your article about possible higher rates from the insurance companies (“Maryland officials consider higher Obamacare rates after federal subsidies cut," Oct. 23), I would like to talk about real numbers. I am 62 years old, in good health, and two years ago, before I had to commit to Obamacare, the monthly premium for my wife and I was $700 a month with a $3,500 total deductible. With Obamacare, my premium went up to $800 a month and my deductible skyrocketed to $13,000. I was finally able to tap into my local hospital for reasonable rates for 2017, but if I did not, my premium would have risen to $1,250 a month, again with the $13,000 deductible, and this is for the cheapest insurance coverage. With the new proposed rate hikes, earlier this year of up to 50 percent (and now a proposal for even higher increases), my premium would have shot up to $1,800 a month in January of 2018 with the same ridiculous $13,000 deductible.

Let’s forget about politics for now, how can any individual or any small business owner who really pays for their insurance survive? Why don't we focus on the "non-profit" status of Blue Cross Blue Shield and other insurance companies. Let's look at their CEO salaries and bonuses from top to bottom of their administration and then tell me again, are they really "nonprofit"? This has to stop, and I do not understand why the legislature continues to fold to their demands when they are clearly in the black at all times.